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"Wear" means to have something on your body; "use" means to employ anything for a purpose.
Side-by-side comparison
To have something on your body: clothes, accessories, perfume, makeup, glasses. Implies contact with the body.
She always wears red on Fridays. It is her thing.
Do you wear glasses? I did not know you needed them.
He wears the same cologne every day. You always know when he has been in a room.
To employ something for a purpose. Does not imply it is on your body. Very general.
She uses a laptop for work and a tablet for drawing.
Can I use your phone? My battery is dead.
They use solar panels to power the entire house.
Common mistake
In English, glasses, earphones, a watch, jewelry, perfume, makeup, gloves, and a hat all go with "wear," never "use."
Trick to remember it
- •Body rule: if it is in contact with your body or hanging from it, use "wear" (clothes, glasses, jewelry, perfume, makeup, belt, watch, earphones).
- •If it is a tool or device you handle with your hands, use "use."
Quick rule
- •Wear = have on your body.
- •Use = employ for a purpose (not on the body).
Did you know?
The expression "wear and tear" is very common in rental and insurance contracts. It means the normal and expected deterioration that an object suffers over time and through regular use. "Normal wear and tear is expected in any rental property." Here, WEAR is used in its sense of "gradually wearing down", the same verb as in "wear a hat" but in an evolutionary sense: what is worn eventually wears out. The fashion industry also uses WEAR as a suffix to categorize products: activewear, footwear, outerwear, underwear, swimwear, all built from the same root verb.
Practise what you learned
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
Do you _____ glasses? I didn't know you needed them for reading.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
She _____ s a particular brand of shampoo. It's the only one that works for her.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Related word pairs
"Carry" is to hold or transport something; "wear" is to have something on your body like clothing or accessories.
Both mean 'quedar bien', but one is about size and the other about style or what looks good on you.
Both can mean 'parecer', but one is based on visual appearance and the other on general impression.
"Above" is at a higher level without contact; "over" implies covering, movement, or crossing.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy